Writer's Superstition

A friend recently told me that she feels writers can be superstitious, and I actually questioned myself as a writer because I don't have any habits or superstitions around writing! I'll write anytime, anywhere, and during any mood or ups and downs in my life. She has alot of cred. too because she writes regular papers for her phd. I'm hoping I can one up her with a published product before she gets published by her university. I hope this doesn't affect my chances of producing a good manuscript, knock on wood.

I'm working on my second book, and it looks good

It seems that my second book is almost done, if you can call it a book (10, 000 words.) It's a mass market deal- there I said it. Mass market. That's a literary sin, in case you didn't know. But at least I'm being honest with myself, right? I'm not just writing for "the craft." I'm a capatalist, conservative. That would be a great book title, I'm sure I would have alot of haters (damn socialists!) I'm teasing, I'm really just trying to be inflammatory. Anyway, I really have to get back to writing, eating chocolates, and surfing the web.

My Query Letter Sucks

I am having difficulty writing a great hook for my query letter. The hook is critical- it's the difference between a manuscript request or not. Editors receive thousands of querys over the year, and sometimes hundreds a day if she is popular. I'm also going to submit my manuscript to the Fraser University contest- good luck if you are entering. Grand prize is publication with a small publisher, yay!
I've also started writing my second book again. I almost feel like my second book could be a winner if I apply myself. We'll see...

My first Query letter was sent out!

Last Sunday I finally scrapped together a few hours to write a personalized query letter to the agent I met at the Writer-in-Residence meeting. Waiting is the hard part, but I am somewhat patient because I know this is a process that requires skill and hard work, not just luck. I also joined the site querytracker.com which was daunting, because I read some success stories that revealed the writers sent HUNDREDS of query letters before landing an agent! Yes, that was me screaming. Sending 175 queries would take me years (that was one writer's experience.) Suddenly I don't feel so patient...

Met an agent

The meeting with Deborah went so well. She gave me a great critique, and I have since completed a revision of my manuscript. Here are some of the things she wrote in my critique letter:
"a strong and distinctive voice
a compelling coming of age story
a richly evocative description of Matilda's world
a sympathetic protagonist"
I also met an agent at the second meeting, and I'm working on a query letter.

Preparation for THE Meeting

I talked to my friend Fern who happens to have a masters in literature, and who is also pursuing her doctorate in education at the moment, and she gave me a few tips for the meeting. The tips were quite good and I'll share:
truly listen to what the author has to say
expect some kind of critique
do not ask for autographs for your copies of her numerous books
let her lead the meeting and discussion
I thought these were really useful tips. To prepare for the meeting, I am going to re-read my manuscript, read one of her books, and try to pinpoint what genre my book is. I am also going to research my target audience based on other published works of the same genre. I guess I have alot of work to do!

OMG!!!!!! I have a meeting with the Writer in Residence Program Author!!!!

Remember when I told you that I'm following writer Deborah Cooke from the Writer in Residence Program? I submitted my manuscript for her review, but I was not expecting much because she had a ton of submissions from the writers that follow her, so I thought my competition was stiff. Well today I'm just minding my own business when the phone rings, and I decide to answer it. Why not, right? Michael introduces himself and tells me that Deb would like to meet with me to discuss my work, and that I was selected out of a large number of submissions! I went histerical, blabbed on about stupidity to Michael and made the appointment for November 18th. I hope I don't make a total fool of myself to a professional writer like Deb. I wonder what comes up when you search "meeting with author" on the web?